As the turmoil continues in the Ukraine so too does the pissing contest between Presidents Obama and Putin.

When Obama imposed economic sanctions against Russia he must have known that there would be some kind of retaliation.

But he probably also knew that this would be unlikely to have a dramatic affect on the United States.

It was one of those gambits that politicians use when they want to appear to be concerned and doing something, yet at the same time really doing little or nothing.

Of course, always wanting to claim the high moral ground, Obama and his henchmen put pressure on their European Union allies to do likewise.

They buckled under and on this occasion did the bidding of Obama, but in their case the consequences may be felt a lot more.

And when they do start to feel the pinch the big question will be how long Obama can hold this coalition together – especially since America has spent the last few years spying on these ‘friends’, tapping their phones, reading their emails, and treating them like enemies!

Putin’s response has been predictable and potentially a lot more substantial in its impact than America’s opening salvo. Putin has banned the import of food from the European Union, the United States, Canada, Norway and Australia.

Whilst the US, Canada and Australia are too remote to feel much of the pain, some European nations, like Germany, for example, will feel it a lot more. Germany does substantial trade with Russia, accounting for 13% of Germany’s GDP.

Russia, on the other hand, is rich in natural resources, and does not have to be dependent on anyone, so it is questionable just how far Obama can turn this economic screw and get away with it.

If the situation does escalate with further sanctions imposed against Russia, there is little doubt that Putin’s comeback would be, at the very least, to slow down the flow of cheap natural gas to the rest of Europe – always with the option of cutting it off altogether.

The EU’s reluctance to put the screws to Russia because of their dependency on it for the vast majority of their energy needs may well see the moral high ground coalition disintegrate and Obama left once again isolated and looking foolish.

(Except perhaps for Britain which will probably still tag along the way they did with the WMD deceit, because Britain doesn’t get it’s natural gas from the Russians and because British PM Cameron will do anything and everything for a photo opportunity and to look statesmanlike with an election looming there in a few months.)

Meantime Obama has once again taken on the appearance of the sheriff in Blazing Saddles!